If you have stick-straight, skinny lashes like mine, you’ll totally understand the magic behind this product. Like the fabulous feline and the feisty toddler who boss me around, my lashes do not listen to me… Every morning, I go through the same routine. I crimp my lashes with my curler and say a prayer to the beauty goddesses. “Please, please hold this curl!”

Then, my lashes straighten out.

I spent decades looking for a mascara that would hold a curl while boosting my roots so my lashes could soar high up to the heavens above — and yes, I wanted these things without having to deal with a trail of flakes on my cheeks or blackened smears smudging my lower lash line.

Well, love, this is it. ?

I’ve mentioned a few times before, but I haven’t given it the love it deserves.

It’s been around for-everrrrrr, and I always return to it because it hoists every last lash (even the ones on the outer corner, which are the droopiest of the droopy ones for me), and then stretches them out so the tips extend way beyond their natural length.

Plus, the volume? Dialed up! Like YSL Faux Cils, but a tinge less intense at the roots.

Ignore the inside voice inside your head that’s always saying, “Do you really neeeed another neutral eyeshadow palette?” because this one with its matte neutral brown and beige eyeshadows, and its shimmery taupe, gold and copper accent shades, parts the clouds for me, and I say this as an unabashed hoarder of neutral palettes. I love them because you can wear them all the time and for any occasion. But the rises above the rest IMO.

I use this palette to “cheat” the look of a deeper set eye, which is something I deal with every day since I have hooded lids. This 16-pan palette bucks the current trend of warm red and orange-y browns, and instead boasts a bevy of cool-toned shades and neutral browns, which are great for carving out a crease.

YUMMY!

The makeup maestros at Tarte found a way to seamlessly weave these long-lasting, pigmented shadows into each other so that even if you’re rushing (or, even if you don’t know what you’re doing), you can still buff and blend your way into something that looks like you spent hours on it.

It’s borderline glam, which I like, but it’s still quick and easy. From start to finish, you can do this in 10 minutes.

There are three things about this look that help keep the time from spiraling out of control.

1. The concealer is doing the heavy lifting.

I’m not wearing any foundation at all. There’s just a medium-coverage liquid concealer with a natural satin finish, which I’m using for spot treatments to even out specific places, and I’ve chosen a liquid concealer that can be built up in layers wherever I need the extra coverage (it’s nice to have that option).

2. Pressed powder gives you more control.

The concealer is set with a medium-coverage pressed powder, which is handy for 10-minute looks, whereas loose powder is usually messier… Pressed is just easier for me to grab and go.

Also, pressed powder tends to look sheerer than loose powder does for me, which provides a lot more control over how much powder actually ends up my skin.

Basically, I’d rather apply less product and have to build it up to the coverage I want than accidentally apply too much powder and have to remove the excess… It’s always easier to add makeup than take it away, IMO.

3. A creamy eyeshadow pencil corrects any mistakes with the liquid liner.

Running the cream shadow along the edge of the liquid liner helps to hide any dips and imperfections. There’s also a subtle transition of shine from the high beam gleam of the liquid liner to the softer shimmer of the pencil, which gives some subtle complexity to the liner.

Alright… Are you ready for the breakdown? I hope so, because here we go! 🙂

I never tried the first Rainforest of the Sea palette (my friend Jessica reviewed it for MBB), but I love the heck out of the second one and its beautiful, buttery, satiny blues and browns.

They’re to die for and so creamy. Easy to blend too.

I see you, shimmer!

Volume III is more metal. It has seven high shine metallics and one matte beige. Like Volume II, the shadows are a super creamy combination of a powder and a cream, and they feel slightly bouncy, so you can practically blend them in yo’ sleep.

Or, when you’re half-awake because you didn’t get enough sleep, ha!

I’m wearing Jewel and Rays mixed together on my lids, and Tiki in the crease. The lip is NARS Powermatte in Get It On topped with MAC Lipglass in Goldfinch. Cheeks are MAC Sunbasque Blush.

I think I’ve watched too many Lifetime movies about women who are kidnapped and forced to live in terrifyingly small spaces, because I would really like to learn how to pick locks and crack safes.

Something about those skills is very appealing to me.

That reminds me: locks. Tarte has a new vegan, cruelty-free (of course) cream eye primer called on counters now for $21.

It comes in a cute little glass pot with a top that looks like petrified amber.

Pretty!

It’s a warm, opaque matte peachy beige, and I love the color. Used as a base, it neutralizes some of the purple or blue on my lids, but you can also use it by itself as a shadow with the cool side-effect of having it even out your skin.

It feels like a MAC Paint Pot to me — dense and a sort of dry, which also means that if I put too much on, it’s “Hello, Cake Town!” It’ll look thick and heavy, and then when you blend eyeshadow on top, your eye makeup looks even thicker and heavier.